Aston Martin DBX – long-term-review

Some folks' definition of luxury could well be defined by unlimited choice, and in the automotive space, the ability to personalise every element of your new vehicle so it meets your precise requirements. This results in not only offering a bewildering set of options for the owner, but also creates an almost limitless opportunity to add revenue to every vehicle. Ker-ching, in other words.

The scale of choice of personalisation available on the Aston Martin DBX presents both opportunities to create something you know no one else will have, but equally opens the door to some truly terrifying taste-bypass spec nightmares.

When you arrive on the DBX configurator, you are met with a number of preordained design options carefully created by the design and marketing department. Each one is given its own name to help articulate the vision of its designer and provide some much needed amusement in the TG virtual office.

Choosing to ignore The Bohemian Escape, Mojave Minimalist, Metropolitan Spritz, Capri Machine... we opted to go rogue and spec one ourselves. A challenge that was shared between Editor Rix, my 16 year-old son, his schoolmates, and myself. Rix went for dark moody and minimal. Not sure what that says about him. My son and his mates thought that a combination of red metallic exterior and lime and red interior leathers was the perfect Instagram fodder... So I went ahead with what was the plan all along. Ignored them all and had a go myself.

For me, the DBX looks best in technical colours but being an Aston should exude luxury. Having chosen Ocellus Teal blue we added the dark pack, matte black/bronze wheels to contrast with the yellow calipers, a chocolate brown interior with broguing (whatever that is) and then oak interior accents. In short, I felt I had nailed it.

To confirm my brilliance I jumped on a Zoom call with Aston Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichmann... who politely suggested we could do better. The dark pack was replaced with bright aluminium to highlight the lines and accentuate the form, the dark wheels swapped for their brighter alternative in the same style and the dark brown interior booted out in favour of a blue one with silver stitching and light contrasting broguing.

Marek wanted to replace the dandelion calipers too, an argument that still continues on WhatsApp. I eventually won by pointing out I'm from Essex.

Minor amendments aside, the overall look of the DBX in this configuration is truly stunning. In all light conditions the Ocellus Teal is radiant: the paint quality so rich and deep it pours over the form of this imposing vehicle. Inside the combination of blue leather, bright highlights and natural wood oozes luxury. And yes, the yellow calipers add a bit of Essex class to the whole package. It is a truly gorgeous thing to behold.

While the personalisation options are frankly limitless they don’t stop at colour and trim. In addition to the base car's equipment we added the Indulgence Pack which gives you 16-way adjustable front seats, heated and ventilated front and rear seats and acoustic privacy glass. The Convenience Pack delivers a powered tail gate with gesture control. The DB Elegance Package box was ticked, which adds quilted leather and embroidered Aston Martin logos. Oh, and the Towing Package. Caravan, anyone?

With all options included our DBX rolls in at £185,500 in comparison to the £158,000 base vehicle. Oof...

While the choice is almost limitless, the genuine enjoyment of the process of speccing something as luxurious as a DBX is part of the joy of ownership and expectation of ownership. The good news is you can spend hours in the configurator without spending a penny, and who knows? Your specification may well get picked up by Aston itself and given its own lofty moniker. Talking of which, I think we need a name for ours... TOWIE Tourer?